Phonon sideband spectroscopy and 1550 nm luminescence from Eu 3+ and Er 3+-doped ferroelectric PLZT for active electro-optic applications

Abstract

This work reports the spectroscopic behavior of erbium- and europium-doped electro-optic PLZT. Fluorescence at 1.55 μm from Er 3+ : PLZT was found to be spectrally broad and flat in comparison to commercially utilized electro-optic materials such as LiNbO 3. Phonon sideband spectroscopy of the 7 F o → 5 D 2 pure electronic transition in Eu 3+ showed the highest energy phonon from PLZT to be at 750 cm −1. This reduced phonon energy, coupled with moderately high refractive indices inferring large radiative transition probabilities, mark PLZT as a candidate material for efficient lossless and/or amplifying electro-optic devices in optical communication networks.